A few weeks ago I recorded an interview with Vancouver CBC radio host Sheryl MacKay for her local weekend show North by Northwest. The occasion for our chat was my recent visit to Ottawa to receive this year's Pierre Berton Award.

The interview, which aired on the Saturday morning before New Years, was a pretty wide-ranging one. You can listen to the podcast here. Our conversation begins at 1 hour 19 mins.

It is a horrible time of year for book readers. First of all the countless lists of "best books "of the year gone by, published in all the respectable periodicals. All those great books you'll never read. It drives you crazy. Perhaps just a few, you say to yourself, as you scribble down your own, abbreviated listicle of titles. But no sooner do you have a manageable selection than the same periodicals start publishing their rosters of "most promising" books expected out in the coming year,...

I've just been down getting my first look at the Polygon Gallery which opened on the waterfront in North Vancouver a couple of weeks ago. The inaugural show inside this gorgeous space is called N. Vancouver and features a collection of photographs, installations and artifacts reflecting the North Vancouver experience.

My favourite piece in the show, because I've recently become interested in the history of squatting, is a large photo by...

Mayor Louis Taylor and the Rise of Vancouver

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On the west side of Granville Street in downtown Vancouver, near the corner of Smythe next door to the McDonald’s, there is a storefront which for many years has been occupied by a camera shop. In the 1960s, however, it was home to The Book Barrel, the...

This is the only purchase I made during my recent trip to Europe. I bought it in Old Town Prague at the official Spartak outlet store which happens to be located on Husova Street directly beneath the hanging sculpture of Sigmund Freud.
The...

When I was born, in 1947, my parents engaged a housekeeper to help my mother care for me and cope with my three elder siblings. The other day I met my nanny face-to-face for the first time; or, to be exact, the first time in sixty-six years.
Her...

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One of my New Year's resolutions is to walk the length of the Arbutus Greenway, a new bike/walking path created by the City of Vancouver out of the old rail line that formerly ran across the west side from False Creek via Kerrisdale to Marpole (...

I want to mention three very fine books that I've read recently. Any one of them would make a good addition to your Christmas want list, or an appreciated gift for someone near and dear.
The first is for the marine mammal lovers among you. Orcas, of...

The always reliable Christopher Moore reports that the Governor General's History Awards will be going ahead in January with Gov. Gen. Julie Payette's involvement. (Here is the link to Chris's post: http://christophermoorehistory.blogspot.com/2018/12/...